The official blog for singer, writer, director and human rights advocate Aisha and her affiliated web sites.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Serena Williams Sixth Wimbledon Title Brings Racist Rhetoric

Serena Williams

When Venus Williams and Serena Williams first hit the tennis
circuit, they faced racism in select U.S. states. The worst
incident occurred at the Indian Wells tournament in California,
where Serena's father Richard Williams and her sister, Venus
Williams, were booed, jeered and called "nig*er" and "nig*ers"
by members of the crowd as they walked to their seats. One man
in the crowd, who was among the individuals calling Richard a
"nigger" also stated to him, "I wish it was 75, we'd skin you
alive" (Los Angeles race riots occurred in 1975).

Serena was booed and jeered from the moment she walked out on
the court, with racial slurs spewing from people in the crowd.
The 2001 incident was so bad, the sisters vowed never to play
Indian Wells again and did not for over a decade. Make no
mistake, it was racism. People referring to you and your family
as "ni*gers" is a clear indication of that. They should not have
been subjected to such terrible treatment.

Serena Williams at Wimbledon
ball

Derogatory, racially charged statements were made about them
by opponent, Martina Hingis, who stated, "Many times they get
sponsors because they are black. And they have had a lot of
advantages because they can always say, 'it's racism.' They can
always come back and say, 'Because we are this color, things
happen'" and "I think they've been treated with kid
gloves...People have been afraid to criticize them because they
don't want to be called racist." In another interview Hingis
stated people (in tennis) only let the Williams sisters get away with things
because they are black. Coincidentally, Hingis was banned from
tennis for two-years over using cocaine.

Fast-forward to this past weekend where Serena Williams won
Wimbledon for the 6th time. Some were proud of her, but there
were also negative, racially based statements made online. Race has
no place in sports. There are gifted athletes of all races from
many countries, who have done exceptionally well.

Serena Williams and Michael Jordan are black American
athletes who have done very well in their chosen sport. Michael
Phelps is a white American athlete who has done very well in his
sport of swimming. Pele (Brazilian), Lionel Messi (Argentinean)
and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portuguese) are Latin men who have done
very well in football (soccer). Stanley Matthews and Bobby
Charlton are white British football (soccer) players who are
legends for having done well in their field. Usain Bolt is a
black Jamaican sprinter, who has set many world records and won
gold medals, doing very well in his sport.

The aforementioned individuals are a broad cross-section of
people of different races and nations, who have excelled in
sports. At the end of the day they are humans first and foremost.
Sports is not about racial, national or global domination. It is
supposed to be about athletes doing what they love and
spectators enjoying the respective games.